Facebook

arkroyal's Avatar
Yesterday evening I was browsing facebook on my phone and scrolled past the "you may know these people" thing when one of the pictures caught my eye. It was a provider! I have NO idea how the hell facebook connected me with her. I never emailed her, only used text and that through a program. I did read her reviews on here but how in the hell did facebook draw the connection? This bothers me a bit. Has anyone else seen this? I'd rather keep this hobby and the people in it separate from my public life.
The usual way recommended friends pop up is if you have mutual friends.

If you gave her your real name and/or email and/or phone number (and if any of those are connected to your Facebook account), she "probably" looked you up. If you looked her up, same thing is possible for profiles to pop up under "recommended"

I don't ever share real life info and I never have my phone number connected to Facebook - anyone can look you up by phone #. You'd be surprised how many providers have phone numbers connected to their profiles.

If you're trying to do your own research/screening on a provider on Facebook, I'd suggest making sure you're logged out of Facebook and browse incognito.
arkroyal's Avatar
Thats the thing, though. The only 'looking up' I did was on here on Eccie. Nothing else should have connected us. I didn't use my real phone number to txt her. I didn't use email at all. The only search I did was using her number/email on Eccie.
Thats the thing, though. The only 'looking up' I did was on here on Eccie. Nothing else should have connected us. I didn't use my real phone number to txt her. I didn't use email at all. The only search I did was using her number/email on Eccie. Originally Posted by arkroyal
Facebook does some staring stuff I swear it's always listening, I'v mentioned something to a friend one time and an add showed up on my feed of the exact thing!

It wouldn't put it past me that the iPhone / android phones pass info on searches ( internet Google/chrome/safari ) to Facebook via some code that Facebook has imbedded in the program that scrapes the data back to its self. They do some tricky shit when it come to coding that is hard to find. There might be a setting where you "might" be able to turn off.

Best to have a separate phone with separate Facebook separate phone number not linked to real life. Don't ever use your RL on the phone you use with this hobby cuz one slip up its all over the place with the data!

Good luck
Facebook looks at search history. Ever wonder how those ads are targeted towards your interests? Make sure it's closed when you're surfing. Clear your history and cookies. What text app are you using?
I have similar issues with Google. I turned off locator and still get random stuff from places I've been to rate my experience. Scary how much these info these company really have on us.
If u used the same computer or mobile device, regardless of "hiding" your identity with an app or private browsing your computer's or phone's MAC address must be documented in order to use the internets. Things like location services or private browsing being turned off is just to make you feel better. Your pc or phone would never work without being identified and located. The only true way to be secure is to never ever use an electronic device, debit or credit cards, and live in a cave. You would be shocked to realize how much google and facebook really know about your personal habits and how to leverage that info into revenue from advertising.
Precious_b's Avatar
I surf FB from my phone but I have NEVER allowed it to have my mobile #.

Does anyone know if it will do as what happened to the OP?
44formore's Avatar
Delete messenger from your phone
NaughtyLittleNative's Avatar
I use my old number thats not active any more and i use my current phone to surf fb and it will still show me people i know, people that i only have their hobby phone number. I kid you not, the other day i was talkin to my friend about how slow my phones been actin n how i wanna switch service and then nect thing i know a text message from my service provider saying learn how to reduce data now! I was like was my phone just listening ? And yes they are and so do cable boxes. Apps ask permission to litteraly everything including contacts and microphone even if those things arent needed to run the app. Scary world we live in when a satelite can pin point your exact loaction in a world witha billion people in it
NLN is right. I forgot to mention apps like siri and Google that respond to voice commands that listen passively in the background for command words to activate them. There is really no escape at this point. Its just a matter of how important u think u are vs the ungodly amounts of data that has been compiled that must be sifted through to get to yours. Unless you plan on running for president i wouldnt lose too much sleep over it.
arkroyal's Avatar
Sorry its been a long weekend. But just read all the posts and here's the breakdown:

Contacted provider via Sideline, on my phone. Checked her reviews via eccie and google on my computer, chrome. Only looked up her cell to get the reviews I was looking for. That afternoon, browsing facebook on my phone and saw her picture and profile in the 'people i may know'. I do not have my phone number on facebook. I dont use the same email for facebook and this website. The only point in common is the phone, and it was two separate apps not tied by any email, only the phone. My guess is perhaps Sideline and facebook talked and shared the phone number i texted?

For me, I trust the provided and don't think she'd ever say anything to anyone. But from the drama I've seen posted on here before, I am sure some of the providers would want to know this is something that happens and maybe they need another way to protect themselves. How... I don't have a clue except to use different devices maybe.
Damn that is kinda scary I use sideline and havn't had any issue but then again I don't have a facebook account to tie anything to.
Since she's already there, plug her phone number into Facebook and see if her profile pops up. I'm guessing it will. Do you have her number in your contacts?
Your phone is just a miniature computer with its own ISP and MAC addresses. This is whats tracked by Google and facebook and how they know who u might know. There is no way to avoid it unless you're a master hacker. Using an app is pointless. Only sure way is to use a seperate pc and phone for all hobby related activities. Even if you use private browsing it doesnt matter. Google and facebook in particular have perfected the ability to figure out who you are and what u may want to buy in order to attract the right advertisers specifically to target u and get paid billions.